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View Winners → 66th Annual Arcadia Festival of Bands – Dedication & Inspiration
Arcadia Weekly Nov 19, 2019
Listen to marching bands live before the big day. – Courtesy photo
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Listen to marching bands live before the big day. – Courtesy photo
The 66th Annual Arcadia Festival of Bands (AFOB) will take place Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019.
The Arcadia Festival of Bands has grown to be one of the premiere band reviews in Southern California and is the longest-running event of its kind in the whole state. This sustained success is due to the continued support provided by the City of Arcadia, the Fire and Police Departments, the Arcadia Unified School District, Santa Anita Race Track and local businesses.
The all-day event consists of the Band Review starting at 9 a.m. on Baldwin Avenue, south of Huntington Drive, with the Dignitary Parade leading off at 8:40 a.m. The Percussion Festival starts at 11 a.m. at Salter Stadium at Arcadia High School followed by the Band Review Awards Ceremony at 1:45 p.m.
The evening field tournament is the 6A Division Championship for the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA). The field tournament starts at 5 p.m. at Citrus College Stadium. The field show will be followed by the Awards Ceremony at 8:30 p.m.
The 2019 Grand Marshal, Tom Forbes, is part of this year’s AFOB parade theme: Dedication & Inspiration. Forbes has proven his commitment through 38 years of dedicated service and leadership in Arcadia High School’s Music Programs, from which he retired in 2019. Forbes lived in Arcadia most of his life and attended Hugo Reid Elementary School and Foothills Junior High School before graduating from Arcadia High School in 1975.
After Forbes graduated from Cal State LA in 1981 with a bachelor’s in music education, he began his decades of involvement with Arcadia’s Music Programs helping to elevate them to their prestigious level of recognition, reputation and achievement among high schools. In addition to inspiring the community of Arcadia, Forbes has been a member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association for nearly four decades and continues to volunteer yearly to help with the organization of the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game.
